U.S. Labor Department sues defunct Ocala, Fla., construction company to restore 401(k) plan assets for the benefit of plan participants

OCALA, Fla. - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the defunct Triple T Construction Inc. and its owner, George Thompson III, to restore assets to the former company's 401(k) plan for the benefit of plan participants and beneficiaries.

The lawsuit follows an investigation by the department's Employee Benefits Security Administration into alleged violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The defendants allegedly withheld $13,368.69 in employee contributions and $1,406.11 in employee loan repayments in 2007 and 2008, and never forwarded the funds to the retirement plan. The funds were comingled with the general assets of the company. In addition, the defendants failed to terminate the plan when the construction company ceased operations in 2008.

"ERISA requires that fiduciaries act solely in the best interest of plan participants," said R.C. Marshall, EBSA's regional director in Atlanta, Ga. "We filed this lawsuit to ensure that the contributions of the plan's 29 participants are protected."

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida-Ocala Division, the suit seeks a court order to require that the defendants restore all losses plus lost interest and lost opportunity costs, and that individual plan accounts be offset against losses suffered by the plan. In addition, the suit asks the court to permanently bar the defendants from serving as fiduciaries of any benefit plan subject to ERISA and to appoint an independent fiduciary at the defendants' expense to terminate the plan and distribute its assets.

This case is part of EBSA's employee contribution project to safeguard workers' contributions to 401(k) and health benefit plans. Employers and workers can reach EBSA's Atlanta Regional Office at 404.302.3900 or toll-free at 866.444.3272 for help with problems relating to private sector retirement and health plans. Additional information can be found at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa.

Solis v. Triple T Construction Inc

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